Play with technology or be mastered by it, Jesse Hirsh tells OCASA Conference. 
We are all programmers who should view our own potential to develop and control how the Internet ñ and programs such as social networking ñ to serve our needs, according to Jesse Hirsh, CBC Technology columnist.
ìWe have to decide which leads ñ us or technology,î Hirsh told college administrators at the OCASA PD Conference June 20.
To provide leadership in areas such as colleges, however, first requires us to play with the technology to learn how it works. Leadership of such services may require leaders to speak out sometimes against technological orthodoxy, he said. ìWe make the software or be the software.î
He cited the example of the Vancouver ëriotí more as drama, adding in an interview later that he viewed the incident as performance art ñ young people seeking attention through posting proof of their participation via social media.
Use of social media in education can be both inventive and dangerous, he said, pointing out that under terms of usage ìFacebook owns the material that is posted on its site.î ñ leading to potential problems in the origin of rights to material posted.
In citing the value of ëplayí ñ using particularly social media to understand both its power and weakness ñ Hirsh gave his audience food for thought.
ìI not only saw the need to become more involved to understand the technology,î said Crystal Kotow-Sullivan, Chair of Liberal Arts, George Brown College. ìBut it also helped me understand the support I may need to provide to instructors who experiment with use of technology in the classroom.î
Hirsh cited the example of the Vancouver ëriotí more as drama, adding in an interview later that he viewed the incident as performance art ñ young people seeking attention through posting proof of their participation via social media.
Use of social media in education can be both inventive and dangerous, he said, pointing out that under terms of usage ìFacebook owns the material that is posted on its site.î ñ leading to potential problems in the origin of rights to material posted.
Hirsh was keynote speaker at the opening evening of the Annual OCASA Professional Development Conference, held for the third consecutive year at the Blue Mountain Resort in Collingwood.
Check out more from Jesse Hirsh at his metaviews website.